


Fascinating

by Arista_Holmes



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-12 23:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21484909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arista_Holmes/pseuds/Arista_Holmes
Summary: I do not consent to have my work hosted on any third party app or site. If you are seeing this fanfiction anywhere but archiveofourown, tumblr or fanfiction.net it has been reposted without my permission.Kita and Nel Lavellan have been at Haven for a couple of weeks now, and the elven apostate has caught Kita's eye. It's not that he stands out in the way he looks or dresses, but there's something about his intelligence that catches her attention and makes her want to find out more about him. What she didn't anticipate, was for Solas to turn the tables on her playful banter.
Relationships: Female Lavellan/Solas
Kudos: 8





	Fascinating

Something about Solas captured Lokita’s imaginations. Caught ahold of her crystalline clear eyes and heightened her senses when she was around him.

Ever since she’d been escorted through the mountains by Cassandra to seal the breach, Varric at her back while the apostate Elven mage quietly instructed her in how to use the glowing green mark upon her hand, she had found herself drawn to him.

Maybe it was because he was another mage. Maybe it had been the way he’d so confidently pushed her to seal that first rift. Maybe it was because one of the first things he’d done was tell the Seeker that she couldn’t be the cause of the breach in the sky, but whatever it was, Lokita Lavellan knew she was in trouble.

Leaning against the wall of the tavern that stood near the middle of Haven, Lokita watched Solas emerge from the small house he had, temporarily, claimed as his own and after a moment or two of studying the other elf’s profile she took a deep breath and approached him on light feet.

She wasn’t trying to mask her presence, and as her booted feet crunched through the snow-covered ground, the other mage turned to face her, a small smile on his lips.

“Greetings, Inquisitor. Do you require assistance?” Solas asked softly, and Lokita answered with a smile of her own, speaking quickly before she could lose her nerve.

“I’d like to know more about you, Solas,” Kita asked, hands clasped lightly behind her back so she didn’t tangle her fingers together nervously.

“Why?” her fellow mage asked, an odd mixture of surprise and suspicion painting his features before he wiped it clean, and then only his eyes betrayed him, making Lokita swallow hard as she stammered to find an answer that was both honest and not the whole truth.

There was no way she could tell him that she simply found him fascinating. That his tales of the fade enraptured her, and that she could listen to his smooth voice speak for hours.

“You’re an apostate,” Lokita began, her voice hesitant as though unsure whether he would take offence at the title, but when Solas said nothing she continued, slowly relaxing once more when he simply listened, “yet you risked your freedom to help the inquisition.”

“Not the wisest course of action, when framed that way,” Solas offered softly, a hint of laughter to his tone, and his shoulders relaxed, drawing a relieved sigh from Lokita.

“I respect you, Solas,” she added, shrugging one shoulder self consciously, “I just wanted to know more about you.”

Her candidness seemed to surprise him again, and Solas ducked his head for a long moment before lifting it to meet her steady gaze again as she waited for his answer patiently.

“I am sorry,” he offered simply, “with so much fear in the air… What would you know of me?”

Lokita’s breath caught in her throat. After such a rocky start, the last thing she’d expected was for Solas to grant her questions. She would have counted herself lucky if he’s simply told her something about himself, but for him to give her almost free reign to ask anything at all…

Her mind practically buzzed with idea’s and for a moment the young elven woman didn’t know what to say.

“What made you start studying the fade?” The moment her first question burst forth though, so did her hands. Finally escaping from where she’d kept them clasped behind her, as Lokita spoke she began gesturing for emphasis, tiny flakes of snow swirling between her fingertips in her excitement..

Solas’ amusement was plain to see in his soft gaze. It wasn’t laughter aimed at Lokita though, but at the enjoyment of her enthusiasm. He answered her slowly, pausing regularly to ensure she was still paying attention, and only continuing once he was sure she was still interested in the tale.

“I grew up in a village to the north. There was little to interest a young man, especially one gifted with magic, but as I slept spirits of the fade showed me glimpses of wonders I had never imagined. I treasured my dreams. Being awake, out of the fade, became troublesome.”

‘Kita found herself nodding in agreement. She’d learnt how to summon veil fire from a spirit in the fade when she was very young and had spoken with spirits often until their clan’s keeper had told her of the dangers, and to avoid drawing the attention of demons.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” she asked gently. This wasn’t the first time Solas’ knowledge had contradicted what she’d been taught, but considering her clan’s reactions to her sister’s naturally entropic abilities, Lokita was more than willing to consider an alternative viewpoint.

Solas had survived this long, after all, without succumbing to possession.

“Did spirits try to tempt you?”

The elf before her shrugged one shoulder, before shifting his weight slightly, “no more than a brightly coloured fruit is deliberately tempting you to eat it,” he answered lightly, and Lokita blinked, head tipping slightly as she considered this new perspective while Solas continued.

“I learned how to defend myself from the more aggressive spirits and how to interact safely with the rest. I learned how to control my dreams with full consciousness. There was so much I wanted to explore…”

There was a wistful note to Solas’ voice that softened Lokita’s enthusiasm, and she wanted to drag him off then and there, back to the Hinterlands. To the ruined tower he’d expressed an interest in exploring. To Calenhad’s Foothold where battles had been fought long past. Instead, she wet her lips nervously and continued her questions.

‘Kita was unsure how long he was going to let her ask her questions and was determined to make the most of being able to commandeer his full attention.

“Clearly, you woke up… I gather you didn’t spend your entire life dreaming,” she teased gently, eyes sparkling when he smiled in response, some shadow in his soft grey gaze lifting at her playfully posed inquiry.

“No… Eventually, I was unable to find new areas in the fade-”

“Why?” Kita asked, head tipping to the other side, this time in confusion. The Clan’s Keeper had always taught her that the fade was limitless, an endless realm shaped by demons and a mage’s will, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

In the time it took her to realise she believed Solas over the Keeper of her own clan, and blink in surprise at her own thoughts, Solas had been studying her features. Whatever he’d been looking for when she’d cut off his explanation, he apparently found because he simply took a steady, deep breath in and answered her.

“Two reasons,” Solas said slowly, his voice no longer light and casual, but slow and firm. A teacher lecturing a student, and his gaze had grown sharp and watchful too, as though judging her reactions to his words and something in Lokita’s gut made her pray she passed the silent test.

“First, the fade reflects the world around it. Unless I travelled, I would never find anything new,” Solas said and paused as Lokita frowned, but when she nodded a moment later he continued, still cautious but there was something slowly easing in his stance as she absorbed his words without discarding them.

“Second, the fade reflects and is limited by our imaginations,” Solas paused a moment, before the corner of his mouth twitched into what was almost a smile, “to find interesting area’s, one must be interesting.”

Despite the fact his flash of amusement only lasted a moment, Lokita found herself responding with a small grin of her own, “is that why you’re here? Is this why you joined the inquisition?” she asked, while her stomach did flips.

She didn’t quite know what answer she wanted him to give, but when he responded quickly, his tone light, she wasn’t entirely surprised by the flash of disappointment that shot through her.

“I joined the inquisition because we were all in terrible danger,” Solas answered, pausing a moment, grey eyes skimming across her face before he continued, “if our enemies destroy the world, I would have nowhere to lay my head while dreaming of the fade.”

“Ah…” Kita said, nodding her head once and wracking her mind for something else to say, something that would distract from the completely illogical disappointment staining her mind. She’d only known Solas a matter of weeks, she had no reason to expect…

“Inquisitor…” the elven mage said gently, snapping her clear gaze back to his in a heartbeat and letting her absorb the small twitch to the corners of his mouth before he continued, “that is why I joined, not why I stayed.”

There was a moment of silence between them where Solas smiled slightly and Kita stared, waiting for him to reveal the reason he’d stayed, before all the pieces clicked together in her mind and she felt her cheeks heat against the cold mountain breeze.

She knew she should say something. Something interesting, or witty, or maybe just a gentle thank you, and she took a steadying breath before attempting to stammer out a response.

“I… wish you luck.”

Lokita winced slightly. It was possibly the most ridiculous response she could have uttered, but Solas just inclined his head slightly and thanked her, his voice sincere and Kita let out a soft sigh of relief that she hadn’t made a huge mistake, or at least not one he was going to call her on.

“In truth, I have enjoyed experiencing more of life to find more of the fade,” Solas was saying, and Kita bit her lip, wondering just how far she could push the conversation after making an idiot of herself.

“How so?” she asked softly, and Solas eyed her for a moment, before continuing.

“You train your will to control magic and withstand possession,” he said, “your indomitable focus is an enjoyable side benefit of that training… you have chosen a path whose steps you do not dislike because it leads to a destination you enjoy… As have I,” he explained,

“You like my side benefits?” Kita asked, a small smile creeping back over her face, even as she felt one eyebrow raise in query and wondering where she’d found this sudden confidence “My indomitable focus?”

His complimentary words had restored her spirit simply because they hadn’t seemed intended to do so, Kita realised as she smiled at Solas, and something shifted in his grey gaze, his expression shifting swiftly through expressions ranging from amused, to an intense stare as he held her gaze with his own.

“Presumably,” the taller elf said, voice smooth, “I have yet to see it dominated. I imagine that the sight would be… fascinating.”

Kita’s breath caught in her throat at his words, and she let her eyes seek out the teasing glint that had to be hidden somewhere in his features but when she saw nothing there but the intense honest and steel like focus of his gaze she felt herself flush again, a small shy laugh escaping her.

Was he… flirting? Genuinely flirting?

Kita cleared her throat, but couldn’t quite wipe the small grin from her features as she took a single step back.

“Uh… thank you, Solas… but… I should be going,” she managed not to splutter over her words this time, but her pink cheeks were just as obvious a sign that he’d flustered her, and the coating of frost across her fingertips a dead giveaway for her swirling emotions.

“Of course, until later,” Solas said kindly, letting her escape with good grace. Kita let herself turn and walk away around the side of a building and out of sight before she sped up into a jog and made her way through the small village of Haven, back to the wooden house that she and her sister had claimed.

Bursting through the front door, snow still coating her boots, Kita leant her back against the door to close it and groaned softly, chilled fingers raising to press lightly against her flushed pink cheeks. She could hear Nel over by the fire, and feel her sister’s intense golden gaze settle on her questioningly.

“What happened?”

“Nothing…. Nothing important…” Kita corrected softly, but when she opened her crystalline eyes Nel was right in front of her, staring at her face with narrowed eyes before the blonde began grinning.

“Your face is all red,” she pointed out and Lokita immediately scowled, “I know who you were with!” Nel almost sang and Lokita sighed.

“It wasn’t like that… we were just talking…” Lokita groaned, pushing off from the door and moving to slump in a chair by the fire, snow soaked boots stretching out towards the crackling flames.

“So? What happened?” Nel asked, sinking back into her own chair and leaning forward, ready to listen to her dark haired sister’s exploits but Kita just sighed.

“I sounded like an idiot, and then when he complimented my… indomitable will, I ran away, like an even bigger idiot,” Kita repeated, sinking down into the chair further when, after a moment’s pause, Nel began laughing.

Watching the blonde laugh, Kita could feel herself beginning to pout, and after a moment she groaned again, crossing her arms and sinking into an outright sulk before declaring that she was never leaving the cabin again.

Despite that though, the intense hold of Solas’ grey eyes held her attention, painted into her mind with vivid clarity, and Kita was quietly honest with herself that she had to agree with the Elven apostate; imagining someone with the strength to dominate her, admittedly, formidable will was a mental image that was… _delightfully fascinating_.

**Author's Note:**

> Lokita is my Inquisitor, and Nel belongs to LemVance. Together we headcanon that they are sister's. There may be more stories forthcoming with these two girls...


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